Lehigh comes from behind to beat Liberty U. in football

QB dashes 68 yards for a TD, LB scores on interception.

LYNCHBURG, Va. — It was the perfect play to overcome a most imperfect performance by Lehigh's nationally ranked football team.

Trailing Liberty University 20-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Mountain Hawks got the perfect call on third-and-three at their own 32.

Quarterback Michael Colvin kept it, cracked through the left side barely touched and went 68 yards for a touchdown. Jake Peery's extra-point kick gave Lehigh the lead, and after Northampton's Billy Boyko took a tipped interception 39 yards the other way for another TD, Lehigh was on its way to heart-pumping, and possibly season-defining 28-26 victory Saturday night.

It was Lehigh's 13th straight regular-season win, the longest such winning streak in the nation among FCS schools, and it also made the Mountain Hawks 4-0 for the first time since 2001.

But this was all about character and resiliency, not to mention some late, big-play magic that all unfolded before 17,139 fans in Liberty's electric Williams Stadium.

"It's not always pretty, but we know how to win and we have the will to win," said Colvin, whose offense was outgained 488-301 and had the ball a whopping 25 minutes less than Liberty's offense (42:25 to 17:35).

"We're 4-0 and that's all I want it to be. I told the team I'm not going to throw for 400 yards every game and I'm not going to run for 400 yards. I just want to put our team in a position to win. It hasn't been clean, but we keep finding ways."

Colvin said he third-down play call was perfect by offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini.

"It was absolutely the perfect call," Colvin said. "We had drilled that play all week long and we got the defense we were looking for. The offensive line blocked it perfectly and the running back [Keith Sherman] made a good block and all I saw was green grass in front of me. We executed it perfectly."

Lehigh was in dire need of something to go well, because the team that came in ranked No. 13 in one national FCS poll and No. 16 in another trailed for the first time all season and hadn't been outplayed for large stretches like this since the 24-0 playoff loss at North Dakota State in December.

"I'm really, really proud of this football team," Lehigh coach Andy Coen said. "Our guys hung in there. The message before the game was to compete, compete, compete.

"We knew we were stepping up a level here. The guys certainly answered the call. We needed to be pushed and we saw tonight how the kids would react. There wasn't a point where we thought we wouldn't find a way to win the football game."

Boyko, a senior linebacker, also kept the faith.

"Everybody rallied together as a team in the second half and we got it done," he said.

Boyko said his interception came as a result of everybody working together.

"We had a blitz called and [linebacker] John Mahoney got his hand up. Gabe Johnson tipped it and I was in the right place. I just ran as fast as I could."

It was Boyko's first touchdown since he was playing tight end for the Konkrete Kids back in 2008 and scored two touchdowns in the Eastern Conference playoffs against Pocono Mountain West.

"This was just a once-in-a-lifetime play tonight," Boyko said. "It was unreal."

Even after Boyko's touchdown made it 28-20, Lehigh still had to deal with the reality of a potent Liberty offense that had remarkable balance — 247 yards passing, 241 rushing.

The Flames (0-4) went 75 yards for a touchdown with 59 seconds left (TV replays indicated Liberty had actually fumbled on the TD run by quarterback Josh Woodrum).

But all that mattered was the two-point conversion and cornerback Bryan Andrews broke up Woodrum's pass attempt.

"They ran a play that we actually have in our offensive playbook," Andrews said. "So, I kind of knew where he was going and I beat the receiver to the spot."

Liberty players, coaches and fans wanted a flag, but Andrews said, "If the officials said there was no pass interference, there was no pass interference."

Ryan Spadola recovered Liberty's onside kick attempt and Lehigh was able to run out the clock and celebrate. The Mountain Hawks happily headed for the airport for the flight home with what could be the biggest win of the season.

"What a great environment here against a real good football team," Coen said. "We were on the ropes, but the way we came back makes the win even more special. You're always looking for things to teach off of. We wanted to see the character of this team because we hadn't been behind. Now, we need to go out and validate this win next week against a good Fordham team."